TITLE 83: PUBLIC UTILITIES
CHAPTER I: ILLINOIS COMMERCE COMMISSIONSUBCHAPTER b: PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO MORE THAN ONE KIND OF UTILITY
PART 280
PROCEDURES FOR GAS, ELECTRIC, WATER AND SANITARY SEWER UTILITIES GOVERNING ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICE, DEPOSITS, BILLING, PAYMENTS, REFUNDS AND DISCONNECTION OF SERVICE
SECTION 280.80 BUDGET PAYMENT PLAN

Section
280.80 Budget Payment Plan

a) Intent:
This Section provides a process to equalize payments for utility service, based
upon the customer's average bill instead of the actual fluctuating amount for
each separate billing period.

b) Applicability:
The requirements of this Section shall apply to residential customers and small
business customers. Nothing shall prevent a utility from offering a budget
payment plan to non-residential customers that are not small businesses.

c) Eligibility:

1) No
past due amount owing: A customer whose account balance is current may enroll
in a budget payment plan at any time of the year.

2) Past
due: In order to establish eligibility for a budget payment plan, a customer
owing a past due amount must either pay the entire past due amount or enter
into a DPA with the utility to retire the past due debt.

d) Offering:
The utility shall inform its customers of the availability of its budget
payment plan and encourage its use.

e) Enrollment:
Upon inquiry from the customer, the utility shall calculate and advise the
customer what the projected budget payment plan amount will be for the
customer's account. If the customer accepts the offer to enroll in budget
billing, the utility shall begin the plan for that account.

f) Bill
Itemization: In addition to the regular billing requirements of Section 280.50,
the bill statement for an account enrolled in the budget payment plan shall
contain separate line items for:

1) The
budget payment amount; and

2) The
amount of the accrued credit or shortfall.

g) Periodic
Adjustments:

1) If
the customer's usage and regular billing changes so that the budget payment
plan will not be successful if left at its current level, the utility shall
review and adjust the budget payment plan amount.

2) If
the budget payment plan amount must be altered, the utility shall notify the
customer of the change in writing. Notification may be included with the bill
statement or by separate delivery.

h) Reconciliation:
Unless another time frame is requested by the customer in writing, utilities
shall review each budget plan at least once between the 4th and the
7th month of the term of the plan to ensure that significant
shortfalls or credits do not accrue. If a customer's budget payment plan
shortfall or credit becomes so large as to necessitate a reconciliation, the
utility shall:

1) In
the case of a shortfall, offer the customer the option to pay off the shortfall
or have the budget amount adjusted to accommodate the shortfall; or

2) In
the case of a credit, offer the customer the option of a refund or have the
budget amount adjusted to accommodate the credit balance.

i)Late Payments: No late payments charge shall be assessed on a budget
payment plan unless there is an overall budget deficit balance in an account
when the late payment occurs. The late payment charge shall be computed on the
late installment only, not on the accumulated budget deficit in the account.

j) Transfer
of Service: When a customer on a budget payment plan informs the utility that
the customer will be transferring service with that utility from the current
location to a new location served by the same utility, the utility shall advise
the customer what the projected budget payment plan amount will be at the new
location and that the customer may choose to either remain on the budget
payment plan at the new location or cancel the plan.

k) Cancellation:

1) A
customer may cancel a budget payment plan at any time.

2) A
utility may cancel a customer's budget payment plan when the customer either
submits a payment that is less than the full budget payment plan amount or the
customer's payment is 21 days in arrears. Late fees may be assessed on
undisputed budget installment amounts owing on a budget payment plan as an
alternative to termination of participation in the plan.

3) Any
shortfall amount owing to the utility at the time of cancellation shall be
included and payable as current charges on the next bill statement.

4) Any
credit amount owing to the customer at the time of cancellation shall appear as
a credit on the next bill statement. After the issuance of that bill statement,
Section 280.110 shall apply to the credit balance.